Money Saving Boiler Challenge  

This campaign focused on hot water heaters that provide water on demand for heating a home and also for cooking and cleaning. Lowering the water flow temperature from 80°C to 60°C could save a 9% reduction in total gas use, but only one in ten households had adjusted their water flow temperature in the previous year. Nesta developed and pilot tested an online tool to help occupants lower their own water flow temperatures. 

In 2022 and 2023, over 214,000 people used the online tool and indicated that they had turned down their water flow temperatures. Based on Nesta’s research, that would save around 200,304,000 kWh and £20 million on energy bills and would avoid the release of 37,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. The campaign created £33 of savings for every £1 spent on marketing.

Proffers for New Development in Fairfax County, Virginia  

Fairfax County established Transportation Demand Management (TDM) requirements (“proffers”) for new development that would have significant traffic impacts. For buildings within the urban centre of Tysons, trips had to be reduced between 25% and 65% during peak hours, depending on the size of the building and its proximity to the Metrorail stations. The county proffers required large new properties to annually monitor trips, conduct tenant commuting surveys, and show that they were meeting their trip reduction goals. They also had to conduct surveys every three years. Over seven years, 13 such developments generated 63% fewer trips, which was 34% beyond their goals. For the office buildings, this was likely at least partly a result of more people working from home during the COVID pandemic.

Carpooling Promotion in Paris  

France provides financial incentives to local travel authorities (LTAs), employers and employees to promote carpooling. It also funds the development of carpooling infrastructure, ridesharing platforms that make it much easier to carpool, and fraud prevention mechanisms. This case study covers the formative research and early implementation in Paris of France’s National Daily Carpooling Plan.

Coolfood  

Coolfood – World Resources Institute’s (WRI) initiative for curbing diet-related emissions – provides the food service industry with the tools and expertise to reduce emissions by 25% by 2030, in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Smart Trips Austin  

Smart Trips Austin encourages residents of Austin Texas, USA to take multi-modal transportation options (walk, bike, ride transit, and share rides) more often, rather than drive alone. The program focuses on personal interactions — educating individuals on their options and overcoming barriers to multi-modal travel. Smart Trips reinforces this new information using community-based programs such as learn-to-ride classes, transit instruction, and group walking activities. Initially, the program targeted residential neighbourhoods of Austin Texas; each year a different area was targeted. In 2020 the program expanded to city-wide and began to segment using a Stages of Change approach. In 2021, it started targeting residents who had recently moved to or around Austin. Smart Trips Austin averaged a participation rate of 5-10% of households contacted, a 5-10% reduction in drive-alone trips among participants (about 41,000 vehicle trips per year), and a corresponding 5-10% increase in active and shared trips. This account of the program was designated a Landmark case study in 2023, making the City of Austin one of the few governments with more than one program designation.